La figura de una persona con bata y gorro de paciente hospitalario reposa sobre unas manos que la rodean. Está conectada a una bolsa que le proporciona medicina.

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The Subjective Experience of Chronic Illness: The Case of Cancer

This research explores the lived experience of living with chronic degenerative diseases, with a particular focus on cancer, from the perspective of those who experience them. Drawing on an eclectic approach and a hermeneutic-phenomenological perspective, the study examines how illness disrupts identity, forces the reorganization of personal relationships, and alters everyday life. Rather than being merely a clinical phenomenon, living with a chronic illness involves emotional and social struggles—discomfort, distress, resistance, and coping strategies—that shape a complex subjective experience.

The study examines experiences in the workplace, family, and social spheres, as well as interactions with the healthcare system and adjustments to the body and daily habits. The research emphasizes the importance of considering sociocultural and personal factors, particularly gender differences in the experience of illness. These differences, which have historically received limited attention, affect prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and recognizing them is essential to advancing greater health equity. The theoretical framework incorporates Bourdieu’s ideas on “schemes of perception,” highlighting how prolonged socialization shapes representations of the body, health, and care. It also draws on the guidance of the World Health Organization, which identifies three areas in which differences between sexes are observed: the social determinants of health, the healthcare system’s response, and health-related behaviors. This study focuses on health-related behaviors and the subjective experience of illness.

Methodologically, the study is qualitative and descriptive in scope, with data collected through in-depth interviews that were transcribed and analyzed manually. The sample included 20 people linked to the Colombian healthcare system (12 women and 8 men), aged between 25 and 60 years. Contextual variables such as educational level, socioeconomic status, and race were considered but were not used as exclusion criteria. Participant selection was based on a cancer diagnosis, regardless of disease stage, with priority given to individuals involved in health promotion and prevention programs.

Keywords: cancer, subjective experience, suffering, body, symbolic violence, family dynamics
General data
Category
Published
September 17, 2026
ISBN
9789587606003
9789587606027

How to Cite

Reyes, W., Agudelo Gómez, N. L., Mora Mesa, D. A., & Rivera Pedroza, B. E. (2026). The Subjective Experience of Chronic Illness: The Case of Cancer. Ediciones Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. https://doi.org/10.16925/9789587606027